There is so much going on all of the time in all of the
divisions of our school. Not only is it
a pleasure to be here. It is just plain
fun!!
Every division celebrated the New Year of trees with a
variety of activities. Morah Hemda,
Morah Talya and Moreh Shimshon prepared wonderful sedarim for their
students that included: songs,
biographical sketches researched by students and delivered in Hebrew, and
plates full of the fruits from the trees of Israel. The pre-k 4 celebrated by visiting Home Depot
and touring the nursery there. They
learned about how trees grow, what kind of soil is necessary and what kind of
fertilizer works best. The staff of Home
Depot was so impressed with our students that they offered to adopt us as a
school, promising to send out a tree specialist to canvas our grounds and
determine the best place to plant trees.
You can see a tree sample outside of the pre-k 4 classroom full of
beautiful blossoms.
While 10 of our high school students were in Connecticut
participating in Yeshiva University’s Model United Nations, another 12 high
school students were competing downtown in District Court against local schools
in Mock Trial.
I returned from Connecticut in time to catch a Friday assembly
run by the RiverKings Hockey organization who came to present David Finkelstein
and the sixth grade with a check and free game tickets for an award-winning
essay and also to answer students’ questions about hockey.
Our Facing History leadership committee has again been at
work running workshops for 7th, 8th , and 9th
grade boys. The theme this year is
bullying. They adeptly introduce
scenarios, run discussions and leave students with important messages to take
beyond the classroom.
Adar was ushered
in with a school-wide song and breakfast fest.
High school students accompanied early childhood, elementary, and junior
high students to the gym where our school band was playing Jewish music and
everyone caught the beat and started dancing.
We were treated to some humorous renditions of popular songs by Rabbi
Gersten, some great costumes ( especially Rabbi Baldinger’s ), and a delicious
breakfast prepared by Sandra Osdoba, assisted by Tonya and Steve, and made possible through the generosity of Michael
Schneider ( brother of our very own Francie) in memory of his parents, David
and Rita Schneider z"l and the Graber
Family in honor of Evelyn Graber’s birthday.
Bluma Zuckerbrodt Finkelstein did an instructive and
entertaining presentation to the upper school on the upcoming elections in
Israel, highlighting the major parties, their representatives, and their
campaign advertising. Students were able
to ask penetrating questions and make important comparisons to our own
government and elections.
Students have been arriving in costumes all week – animal
costumes, creative and silly hats, career day costumes and a wonderful tribute
to Dr. Seuss on his birthday. Children
have been bounding out of their cars in the morning at carpool, anxious to see
what their friends are wearing and to show off their own creations. The mood has been enhanced by activities and
decorations produced by our Bat Ami girls:
Moriya Ben Hemo and Naomi Tenenbaum, and the hallways are filled with
the mouthwatering smells of freshly baked hamentashen. The fun continues with
chagigot for the upper school packed with Purim shtick and carnivals on Shushan
Purim. Not to be forgotten, there are
reminders in all divisions to remember to give tzedaka before Purim begins.
While some high school students are away at AIPAC, the
rest of the upper school students watched Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s
address to Congress, via live streaming, and followed this up with meaningful
analysis and discussion.
Meanwhile the high school girls have been doing a series
of follow up activities based on the Shabbos Project of last fall. They provided an enjoyable learning experience
for upper elementary students. Watch the youtube link below to capture the
essence. Many thanks to Mrs. Malkah
Harris for directing and facilitating this activity.
They are continuing to volunteer with Special Olympics
Bowling on Mondays. In their free time,
they are planning and preparing for their upcoming shabbaton and winter trip to
St. Louis, while squeezing in rehearsal time for an upcoming play, soon to be
followed by their annual gala dinner.
The third graders are busy preparing for their Purim
play, this Friday, under the able direction of Anat Kampf. The first graders have just completed their
Siddur Presentation, a sparkling array of songs and dances prepared by Yehudit
Soleman, Linda Schlesinger, Ricky Kampf, and Shimshon Soleman. Every Friday
there is an assembly before dismissal featuring a d’var Torah by one class and
a short presentation by another class.
Learning outside of the classroom continues for our high
school boys. There are mishmar nights
twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where boys select what they want to
learn in a beit midrash environment. There is additional learning and Kiddush after davening on Shabbat
mornings.
May we all be blessed to continue with all of these
endeavors in the future. What a fine place to work!!
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